Following the success of the third No Kings protest on Saturday, March 28, with thousands gathering in cities across Monterey County, a citizen group has pressured the King City City Council to drop the “King” from its name.
The announcement was made on April 1.
“In this country, we have no kings,” reads the online citizen petition, signed by nearly 10,000 King City residents. “And this city should be no different.”
In an emergency meeting held by the council, on Monday, March 30, the governing body moved to immediately remove the word “King” from all city-owned buildings and the city’s website.
“This decision wasn’t made lightly,” says City Mayor Mike LeBarre. “We are bound to serve our constituents and they have made their wants very clear. This country is a democracy, not a monarchy.”
The mayor adds that he and the City City Council stand together in the decision, which was approved in an unanimous vote of the council.
“In order to reduce costs for the city during a tight fiscal year, we voted to simply remove the King from King City and not replace it with another word, such as democracy or freedom,” adds City City Councilmember Oscar Avalos. “City staff estimated the cost of a full rename would run in the millions, but the removal of King alone would cost just a few thousand dollars. It’s a win for the nation and local residents.”
According to the meeting’s associated agenda report, the emergency decision will take effect immediately and city staff estimate all signage related to the City of City’s former name will be removed by the end of the week.
In response, an activist told the Weekly that they applaud the City City Council for its swift action.
“Before you can rid the world of kings,” they said. “You have to start with the cities. I proudly stand with the City City Council and hope that other cities will follow their lead.”